Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

”I’m dying, I’m dying, heal me! Forget about your 8x scope!”

”You’re trash! Back off, I’m gonna hop in an armored car and run them all over!”

”Huh? You tell me to back off just to run me over first??”

In the neighborhood pavilion, Su Zhi and Shao Ya were in the middle of a gaming session.

The two deskmates, one lying on his left side, the other on her right, were back-to-back, their expressions just as intense.

Yu Bao was on the lawn chasing butterflies, occasionally wagging his tail at Xiaoyue in invitation.

”WOOF! WOOF!” (Big bro, come play! C’mon!)

Xiaoyue had a sour look on his little cat face and couldn’t be bothered with him.

He was still salty about the tail-chasing incident from that morning.

’That dumb puppy wasn’t just dumb, he was mean!’

PATTER PATTER PATTER... Yu Bao came running over on his short little legs, his big eyes pleading for his big brother’s forgiveness.

Xiaoyue’s heart softened for a second, but then he lifted his head and turned away again.

’Even if I die, even if I jump from this spot, I will not acknowledge this dumb puppy!’

”Woof-woooo~” (Don’t be mad, I’ll show you something cool~)

Xiaoyue ignored him.

’I’m mad! I’m staying mad!’

’What kind of cool stuff could a dumb puppy possibly have?’

But when he heard a stirring from the ground, Xiaoyue couldn’t help but sneak a peek...

Then he unconsciously opened his mouth.

The earth beneath his paws rearranged itself in a peculiar way, using protrusions and depressions to form an adorable cat face!

Xiaoyue was stunned for a moment.

But after seeing Yu Bao’s expectant face, he immediately feigned disdain and lifted his head high.

”...Meow.” (What’s this? If you’re so great, draw a full body.)

”PANT PANT!” (No problem!)

This time, Xiaoyue opened his eyes the moment he heard the stirring.

Yu Bao focused his attention and activated his Earth Force Field.

Under his control, the dirt roughly formed the outline of a cat, which he then refined, and refined.

Finally, a lifelike Huajing Cat appeared upon the earth!

Even for a noble Cultivation Cat accustomed to high art, the sight of such a beautiful picture left him speechless.

...It was actually awesome!

”Woof-woof?” (So you can forgive me now?)

”Meow!” (Since you drew a picture for me, I forgive you!)

”Did Yu Bao draw this? This is amazing!”

Shao Ya, having finished her game, looked astonished and quickly took a photo to save it.

Su Zhi had been run over and killed off early, so he had watched the whole thing unfold and was just as surprised.

Shao Ya looked at Su Zhi. ”You had Yu Bao practice the Earth Force Field?”

She had just flown back last night. Although there was a replay of Saturday’s quiz, she hadn’t had time to watch it.

”Yu Bao wanted to practice it himself.”

”Impressive. It’s very difficult for a Yu Dian Dog to master the Earth Force Field. And Yu Bao’s skill aptitude is quite high!”

Shao Ya patted Yu Bao’s head as he trotted over, a gesture of praise.

Su Zhi also stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Skill aptitude was a rather abstract concept, but it definitely affected a Pet Beast’s combat power.

For the same Skill, a Pet Beast with high skill aptitude would have a deeper understanding and could use it more flexibly, giving the Beast Tamer more strategic options.

’Could this be the effect of adding points to Intelligence?’

’But thinking about it, it made sense.’

Yu Bao had learned the Earth Force Field from scratch, relying entirely on his own intuition. Although it was more difficult, his understanding was definitely deeper than if he had just copied the existing training methods from the educational curriculum.

Adding points was more like an amplifier, making an already existing effect more pronounced.

Su Zhi carefully recalled recent details and realized Yu Bao’s progress with his Earth Force Field had sped up a little in the last two days.

’This must also be the effect of adding points to Intelligence!’

”If Yu Bao is practicing the Earth Force Field, does he have time for Rock-Breaking Teeth?”

Shao Ya blinked as if she’d realized something. ”Is this why you two missed training and got yelled at?”

”Yu Bao wasn’t good at Rock-Breaking Teeth anyway. It wouldn’t have mattered even if he wasn’t practicing the Earth Force Field.”

Su Zhi threw up his hands.

”Since Yu Bao can learn what he likes better, why force him to stick to the curriculum and learn something he doesn’t?”

”’Tailoring the training to his talents? Haha, you’ve really got your own ideas.’”

Shao Ya gave him a gratified smile, the kind that said, ’My boy’s all grown up.’

”But I have to remind you, the skills stipulated in the curriculum are all part of a systematic set of moves. For example, a Yu Dian Dog practicing Rock-Breaking Teeth is actually laying the groundwork for its next Evolutionary Type! It’s all interconnected.”

Su Zhi nodded in understanding.

The Yu Dian Dog is an Earth Element, but its Evolutionary Type, the Yu Dian Farm Dog, is a dual Earth and Fire Element.

After evolving the Fire Element, Rock-Breaking Teeth would gain a stronger Strong Attack capability, and its synergy with later skills would be even greater.

Yu Bao’s practice of the Earth Force Field certainly showed better performance in a single skill than Rock-Breaking Teeth would have.

But now that he had deviated from the curriculum, what was the next step?

That really was a problem.

”But we’re only freshmen. It’s fine to mess around a little!”

Shao Ya patted Su Zhi’s shoulder. ”In our senior year, there’s a review period where all skills are extensively revised and retrained. As long as you get back on track then, it won’t be a big deal.”

”Yeah,” Su Zhi nodded.

’I won’t be getting back on track then, either...’

”Alright, that’s enough. No talking about school on the weekend.”

Shao Ya glanced at her phone and gave him a meaningful look. ”It’s lunchtime, you know.”

”Let’s go. My place today.”

”Ha, that’s what I was waiting to hear.”

They were classmates who lived in the same neighborhood, so it was perfectly normal for them to visit each other’s homes for a meal on the weekend.

Su Mao and Wang Sujuan warmly welcomed their son’s deskmate.

Xiaoya was pretty, well-spoken, had good grades, a healthy appetite, and a cute cat. They had long since started treating her like their own daughter.

And so, Su Zhi once again logically faded into the background.

While the family ate, the two Pet Beasts played in the living room.

Yu Bao showed his big bro Xiaoyue his dust-drawing technique. This time, he even managed to create shadows and textures, making the effect even more lifelike than with dirt.

Whatever Xiaoyue wanted Yu Bao to draw, he could draw it immediately, and beautifully at that, making Xiaoyue reluctant to erase any of it.

The happiest person was Wang Sujuan.

Ever since Yu Bao learned the Earth Force Field, the house had become literally spotless, and she never had to do chores again.

·

”I’m full! Thank you for the wonderful meal, Uncle and Auntie~”

Shao Ya clasped her hands together and nodded in thanks.

”We’re just happy you enjoyed it, Xiaoya!” Wang Sujuan and Su Mao said, all smiles.

”Hey, hey, don’t let her fool you.”

Su Zhi protested helplessly. ”At her own house, she’s way wilder than I am...”

”I’m heading home. See you at school tomorrow.”

Shao Ya waved, calling Xiaoyue into her arms.

”Remember to be a good Beast Tamer!”

Just as she was about to leave, the girl turned back, her bright, sapphire-blue eyes twinkling.

”Meow!” (Train hard! Drawing pictures won’t save a Beast Tamer!)

Xiaoyue also earnestly advised his little bro.

A smile tugged at Su Zhi’s lips as he waved goodbye to his deskmate.

’Our ideas of what it means to be a ”good Beast Tamer” are probably a little different.’

’We’ll take different paths, but let’s meet at the summit!’

Regardless, Shao Ya’s words had been a wake-up call for Su Zhi.

The Earth Force Field was just the beginning. It was time to think about the path of specialized Skills for Yu Bao.

As Su Zhi was lost in thought, he happened to glance at his panel and his eyes widened in pleasant surprise—

[Assignable Attribute Points: 0.05]

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Special note! Xiaoyue is a male cat! A male cat!!